Spoiler Alert!

“Should we post the Kirkus Review of The Dog Who Knew Too Much?” says Spence.

“Hmm,” says Admin. “A nice review but it gives away a lot of plot. How about if we post it but tell everyone not to read it?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

The review:

Backcountry hiking turns out to be no walk in the park for the indomitable Chet and his human partner Bernie.

Because he’s chronically short of cash, there aren’t too many gigs Bernie Little (To Fetch a Thief, 2010, etc.) won’t take a shot at. But giving the keynote at the Great Western Private Eye Convention turns out to be a bad deal, since the offer is only a pretext for its president, Georgie Malhouf, to make a bid for Chet. No sale, says Bernie. Instead, he takes what looks like a real stinker of a case: pretending to be Anya Vereen’s new guy so that her old guy, Guy Wenders, won’t make a play for reconciliation during Parents Weekend at Big Bear Wilderness Camp. Chet loves this trip; after all, the mountains are filled with wonderful, strange smells. Bernie, not so much, especially after he learns that Anya’s son Devin went missing on his cabin’s overnight. When Bernie takes Chet and wilderness guide Turk Rendell back where the boy was last seen, Chet follows Devin’s scent into an abandoned mine, raising the searchers’ hopes. But then Turk gets killed, and Bernie runs afoul of Big Bear’s so-called law-enforcement community, most of whom share the name Laidlaw. Once Bernie gets arrested for Turk’s murder, Chet is on his own. Chet knows plenty, but how can he share his wisdom with reporter Suzie Sanchez, who’s almost as smart as Bernie, not to mention smelling almost as good and being a really great patter?

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I’m enjoying this year’s shows. I won’t watch yesterday’s episode until tonight.
But I just wanted to ask if anyone feels the same as I do . . .
Captain Sharon Raydor is looking out for Brenda, Fritz is coming to grip that Brenda is where she wants to be, and that Chief Pope appears to be getting Brenda ready to feed to the dogs.

I also like how they are treating Commander Taylor and on the August 1st episode how they brought in a whole new facet of Lieutenant Tao. Tao’s son gets a life lesson when watching his father work. And when Tao gets hold of one of the guys fighting and thrust him up against his wall, his son looks impressed.

Really liked that episode. Very sad and the husband was nuts, but the acting was fantastic.

Review!… If a person cannot write a decent review without giving the plot away they should not be in the business of writing reviews….grump! ….And why post a review on your blog if it gives away the plot of your book that isn’t out yet? ….snort!… I’m not reading it and the fact that it’s up there just pisses me off….gruffle!

Drunken!….How did I miss the recipe for drunken muffins?….sniff! …..Was that in a comment from yesterday??….wheeze!

I was really sick last night. I was rIffling through Aunt Mollysmom’s bags and found a plastic bag with lemon breath mints. Boy, they were hard to get at, way down deep in a small pocket, but I prevailed. I chewed the bag open and ate a lot of them. Somehow, then my tummy didn’t feel so good. I threw up 5 times and still felt awful. I’m better today.

Poor Sammie. Please stay out of Mom’s purse. It makes your tummy ache and could be really dangerous for you (especially since you are so petite.) All starlets know that eating too much can be bad for you. Just eat what your Mom gives you and you”ll be ready for filming.

I’m not reading the review but it had better be a great review of the book. It is, isn’t it?
I agree with Rio. A review should not give away too much of the story. There are dogs and kats with better memories than mine who will remember it.

Sam, it is best that you did throw up that crap that you ate. This is a good time to remind everyone that artifical sweeteners, like is found in diet gum and mints, are poison to dogs.

Borzoi, It would be fun if you came to visit me while my mom is away tomorrow morning. Better still, my mom has about decided that I can do doggie day care tomorrow. You could go with me and we would have a blast. That would give the dogs something to talk about for weeks afterwards…a real life Russian spy that doesn’t know the cold war is history.

Siberians!….Don’t get too excited pal….snort!….AJ and his team are going to wipe the trail with those Siberians…heh!heh!….”A” stands for Angry and “J” stands for…..sniff!….What does “J” stand for anyways?….cough!

Sammie — listen to my mom; she knows what she is saying. Lemon breath mints are not good for princesses!

Everybody, there is a fascinating article in today’s NY Times. The title of the article is “By Helping A Girl Testify at a Rape Trial, a Dog Ignites a Legal Debate” and it about Rosie, a golden retriever who specializes in comforting people when they are under stress, who helped a crime victim give testimony in a very stressful situation, but for which the defense counsel are now challenging whether this was prejudicial to their client’s rights. We’re definitely on Rosie’s side on this one, me and my dad. The link to the article is below (although may or may not work since Times is kind of proprietary these days).
Wookiehttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/09/nyregion/dog-helps-rape-victim-15-testify.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha29

Wookie!… Haven’t I warned you about taking too many coffee breaks and reading the paper….snort!… If you want tomorrow off for your soft Quilt Security job then you better put the paper away and get back to undercover work….grunt!

SiberH!… I guess I was “assuming” that if the team ran in the Yukon Quest they were gearing up for the Iditarod as well….sniff! ….Thanks for clarifying…gruffle!

Rio: The “J” stands for Justin. There wasn’t a recipe after all. I guess one could use another carrot cake recipe and substitute that flour and use bourbon. I’m not sure I’d want barbeque for breakfast however.

Rio, Staff’s parents are there to accept any mail. Just don’t say it has to be signed for because they almost never answer the door. We will be at the farm until the middle of NEXT week.

Fireworks again tonight. I am glad they don’t take me. I have been very busy watching the moths and tiny frogs on the 2nd floor bathroom window. Every night they come to entertain me. And in the daytime I get to watch the barn swallows who are fledging from the nest above that window… Bliss…

Melanie, Re: The Closer – Guess I don’t have much to add, you said it all very well. I don’t think Brenda is letting herself come to grips with what she did by taking that guy home. Although, personally, I don’t think I would have a problem with it. Yes, I thought Tao’s son probably didn’t realize what his dad’s job was all about till that visit. Also good that Tao let go a little at the end.

I thought this was the last year, but I think I read somewhere that they are filming the last 5 or 6 episodes this winter, and the final ones will be aired next summer. Do you know if that is right?

I love that show, it is one of my very favorites. Might even buy the dvds which is unusual for me.

The movie The Help comes out tomorrow. Can’t wait to see that one. Loved the book.

Wookie: I’m with you and your dad. Asking children to testify in a rape trial and having to face their alleged abuser is terrifying for the children. If they get comfort from a dog being near them, more power to the dog.

As for those Public Defenders? They make it sound as if it would have been better that Rosie was not “cute”. Perhaps they want juries made up of dog haters. I think they are looking for loopholes. Jeez . . .

BTW, Golden Retrievers do not slobber. They may drip a little, but if they want a dog in the courtroom that slobbers, I’ll send in one of the Newfs!

Barb: I don’t know what’s up. It’s filmed in LA so I don’t usually see any breakdowns for actors. I’ll look around.

Reviews that are spoilers are just crazy. There are even book jackets that do the same. Now I hesitate to read the cover prior to reading the book.

Rio: I doubt if the makers of Zingers use artificial sweeteners, which can also be poisonous to humans, but they would contain sugar and chocolate not good in large quantities either. That picture makes them look so good though!

B&M: After seeing previews of The Help I don’t know if I will rush to see the movie. The book was very intense and the previews make the story look more lighthearted.

Raydor!… The first time I saw that actress who play Raydor was on Grey’s Anatomy….snort!…She played Grey’s mother who had Alzheimer’s . In her day she was a brilliant surgeon….grunt!… She was so good in that role, that I have a hard time watching her on The Closer without thinking of that other character….gruffle!

Rosie Gray (beloved of some guy around here) put on her blog yesterday something that is sooo awful! She’s still not over the fact someone told her about it. Don’t look if you don’t want to get grossed out.

Wookie – mama just texted us that they are in DC at Dulles. They are going up on the roof of terminal C and waving in the direction of Chevy Chase. Tell us if you see them. They are both wearing white shirts.

Rio – we think you are probably safe enough from eating Zingers-there probably isn’t enough REAL chocolate in a whole truckload of Zingers to affect a mighty dog like you

Dawson! Congrats on outwitting those fibbing goats. We think they just said those things to (ahem’ sorry we just ca’t help it) to GET YOUR GOAT!
tee hee!

Siber – is there someplace easier or closer for your mom to meet ours so that maybe you could go along?

Wookie — Thanks Tupper & Gilly. Yes, I can see them clearly, and have sent them a strong tail wave back. If I had known in advance, I would have zipped out in the Wookiemobile to greet them personally. Wookie

Wooks, it looks like mom is wimping out on her trip to DC. She was going to be there alone for 2 days, and decided that with her hip being undependable that she did not want to take a chance on being alone AND helpless.

Mollypop, I keep forgetting to mention that on our laptop when the pictures are not viewed straight on you look like a llama. ha ha ha ha, that just cracks me up.

When mom came in the living room this morning an entire bottle of Cipro was spilled on the floor. Boy, did she panic, but all were accounted for. No idea why one of them felt a little sticky, but you might ask Annie.

T&G The only way I can think of that he could come with me is if we found some shade to stand and visit in. I couldn’t go in anyplace for coffee, but if you guys wanted to do that, that would be fine with me. I would just get him out of the truck and we could visit outside in the shade. I know he would like to do that. You could have breakfast first and then he and I could show up. We don’t mind the drive down there at all. Let me know what you think.
If this place were like France, he could go in and have coffee with us.

Siber- we had a thought. What if your mom brought you right to our hotel? We just checked and their room is on the ground floor right off the parking lot! So you could come there and come right into the room for air conditioning AND PICTURES! Our Mama could send your mom more info on your SDD.
ANd Mama wants to know if she can bring you a “doggie bag” if you will pardon the expression, from breakfast.
(we promise it wouldnt have chocolate or artificial sweeteners)

Bears…The bears are coming into our city and other NM cities because our weather is totally out of whack. The monsoon is a pathetic dud. The bears are coming in looking for food and water. Fish and game re-locates them to wilder areas. It is the teenage bears that have just been kicked out by their mom that do this and they have no established territory yet.
My own personal opinion is that another contributing factor to this is that humans are crowding them out of their habitat in some areas of NM.

I go to the dog park every day instead of a walk. In the summer it gets too hot here too early to do both a walk and the dog park.
Macy, tell your mom that my mom gets up at 5:15 every morning to drive me to the dog park, so if my mom can do it, your mom can do a walk. I will admit that some days my mom is a walking zombie from getting up so early.

Siber – that will be GREAT! SDD message on the way.
Speaking of zombies- Mama may look like one tomorrow am. She just got word that their flight from DC to ABQ had been delayed an hour! Stinks like Golinkas!

Siber H: Yippee! You get to go meet T&G’s mom.
Regarding the bears: That is a recipe for disaster. Not enough food, water or territory in which to roam. I do hope for rain for you folks down south.
I’m going to read up to page 100 of TDWKTM today. I start my work week tomorrow and have some things to do so I won’t read the whole thing today. There are 308 pages and I’m on page 77. It is a real page turner.

Hey, y’all! Sorry to admit that Mom and I both read the review — spoilers and all. And boy, were we sorry that we did! For those of you who are planning to read it after you read TDWKTM, don’t bother. It was more of a recap than a review.

Dawson: Do you think Spence would get upset if you started posting a paragraph from the ARC every minute or so? I mean, even if you happen to get all the way through the book by September, we’re still all going to buy copies anyway. Right?

Kirby- you are a naughty puppy! ( even if we do think it’s a great idea). Mama is being totally unreasonable. She won’t even let us peek into Dog Who until we go back to the beginning and read the first 3 again, back to back and then jump right into the new one. So we were good and didn’t read the spoiler review above. Honestly, how do some of these reviewers get (and keep) their jobs?
A review that reveals the secret of a mystery novel? Really ???

Mollypop: His cousin is named Corey Taylor, and he’s in both Slipknot and Stone Sour. We’re not big Slipnot fans around here, but Stone Sour did some of the music for a Batman movie a while back, and it was pretty good. His new book is called Seven Deadly Sins: Settling the Argument Between Born Bad and Damaged Good. It’s supposed to be more than just an autobiography. Mom read some of the excerpt from the book on Amazon, but she won’t let me read it because she says I’m too young to read all the naughty language!

Mama’s meeting Siber! Mama’s meeting Siber!
Wouldnt it be great if they had art shows in all the areas where the Plunderers live!?! Hmm … They should start a photo album.
Hey Liz- how is the art show market Down Under?

Melanie!… Someone told me we are going to watch the second episode of Due South tonight after our Brutal Walk…grunt!… Which is going to be any minute now, because it is not so hot out there tonight…sniff!

Meeting!…. Yip Yip! Yeep!… SiberH and Sticky Mama get to meet up tomorrow!…snort!… That will be great because someone can take some photos…heh!… Remember when his name was Siberian Husky??? …chorkel! …Just be sure to get his face out of the bag of food before you snap the photos…heh!

At last! I’m in Kodiak tonight and finally got the wireless internet in the hotel to work.

Why don’t they ask a Plunderer to do a review of SQ/PA’s books. Something short and sweet like: Damn fine writing and a damn find read. Or, an imperative approach: Read it. Neither approach gives away much of the plot.

Dawson: Speaking of reading, I’m so glad you received the ARC today. It’s about time. Do you think the workers in customs enjoyed the books? 🙂

Rockies!… After our brutal walk we watched the second episode of Due South with her mother….grunt!…She actually sat still through the whole show…heh!…How many guys play the wolf?..sniff!…We keep thinking we see two different guys in the show…cough!

Rebecca!… How far away is Kodiak from your home?….sniff!… Won’t all those guys miss you and go hungry without you?…wuffle!

Rio: Anchorage is about seventy miles south of Willow and Kodiak island is about an hour long plane ride from Anchorage. AJ stays home with the pups while I travel for work. I miss both man and mutts when I’m away. Reports from the homefront last night indicated that one, Tenzing helped himself to AJ’s mac and cheese when the latter wasn’t looking.

Rebecca, I’m wearing my Iditarod tag. Maybe we can figure out a way to get it to show up in a photo.
My Iditarod tag goes everywhere with me.
I can’t say the same about my stuffed huskies. Mom thinks I have forgotten about them. ha

SiberH!… I thought you went to bed!…snort!…You better go curl up and get your beauty sleep. You want to be able to put your mascara on properly for the visitors tomorrow…grunt!…Which reminds me. Why does Stinky Mama get to meet both Spencer and SiberH within weeks of each other…grumble!…My friend should become a traveling artist so I could meet somebody new some time…wheeze!

How cool that T&G’s Mum and SiberH figured out a way to meet in person and dog! We can’t wait to see the pictures. Have to go back and read all the links. We read the review but don’t think it will spoil the book for us, although it gives away alot of the storyline. The reviewer doesn’t write like Chet, so we still get the pleasure of reading Chet’s take on what’s happening.

Ok, I have looked at mPop’s pic again and it is more of a long eared goat than a llama. See, you have to look at the background, not at her face. Then her face and ears become the head and….just humor me, k?

Macy- we’ll go along with you anytime you say a dawg looks like a llama or a goat or a pile of…….ow ow ow. Tupper just bit me in the butt. Dang, as soon as Mama is out of the house, those dam Corgis think they own the joint. We have to keep explaining to Gilly that Kats WILL NOT be herded!
Anyway, Mama says to tell you all that they are safe and sound in their hotel in ABQ – going to sleep RIGHT NOW !
G’night all. Pictures to come!